How hard is it to get into a sorority at Vanderbilt? Is it true that you need letters of recommendation for all of the sororities? And is it harder to get into one if you don’t know anyone at the school? Also, if anyone can describe the sorority experience at Vandy, that would be great. Thanks!
I’ll give it go. Sorority recruitment is in January but you spend the first semester getting to know girls in all of the sororities. They hold a few meetings, big events and fundraisers in the fall, plus you will meet them at parties, in classes, etc.
No, I don’t think you “need” letters of recommendation however it certainly helps to send them in the early fall with a picture. That way the girls can read about you, look for you and you’ll have a better chance to meet people. Letters of recommendation aren’t really letters. Most sororities have forms online that need filled out.
Can someone else talk about sorority life?
It’s not hard to get in, if you participate you’ll get a bid. But if you insist on getting into one of the competitive sororities, it can be tough. I don’t think you really need recs because of the second semester rush (i.e. they need recs at state schools because you are rushing for like two weeks so they hardly can get to know you, whereas here they can dirty rush to find PNMs from August all the way to January) but it probably doesn’t hurt either.
It does make things a bit easier if you know upperclassmen coming in, since there are definitely some high school pipelines between friends. But that’s really not that important, what’s more important is getting to know people over your first semester. Groups definitely take girls that they know from clubs, friend groups, or going out. Even if you don’t end up meeting upperclassmen friends it’s good to extend yourself socially, because if you know more people in your own class they might have older friends too.
If you ‘need’ a letter of recommendation, it is not a big deal. The national sororities have a system to provide them and you can ask at Vandy how they want them done or call the panhellenic association in your town. I did the letters for anyone who asked locally or for schools where the recs aren’t a big deal, but for the southern schools (Alabama, Ole Miss, UGA, etc) they go through the national office. You provide a resume. Not a big deal.